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In the ongoing US vs. Google antitrust trial, details emerged regarding Google’s staggering expenditure of approximately 2.5 lakh crores in 2021 to maintain its position as the default search engine across various browsers, phones, and platforms. This revelation surfaced during the cross-examination of Google’s search head, Prabhakar Raghavan, by the US Justice Department, as reported by The Verge.
The $26.3 billion figure was disclosed following a debate between the tech giant and Judge Amit Mehta regarding the necessity of redacting the information. Judge Mehta has been advocating for greater transparency throughout the trial, making this a significant piece of openly shared information, according to the report.
In Google’s recent quarterly earnings report, the company revealed its Search and advertising revenues of $44 billion, showing an 11% increase, primarily driven by growth in the retail sector. Additionally, YouTube’s advertising revenues for the quarter amounted to $8 billion, marking a 12% increase attributed to brand advertising and direct response.
Google’s comprehensive advertising business, which also encompasses YouTube ads, generated nearly $90 billion in profit in the past year. This means that Google allocates roughly 16% of its search revenue and approximately 29% of its profits to these distribution agreements.
A recent New York Times report unveiled that Google’s deal to serve as the default search engine on Apple’s Safari browser across Google products incurred a cost of about $18 billion in 2021.
Meanwhile, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, is scheduled to testify in the US vs. Google antitrust case on October 30. He will present his perspective on how Google’s search success is a result of its innovation rather than deals with major corporations.
Pichai’s testimony will be part of the ongoing antitrust trial filed by the US Justice Department and a coalition of state attorneys general.”
